Between Life and Death
by Little.Miss.Xanda
Summary: He was ancient, weary, and everlasting. She was young, full of energy, and so fragile. No matter where he went, she would always find him.


**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling. No money is being made.

 **Written for the Quidditch League – Season 4 Fanfiction Competition – Finals**

 **FINAL ROUND—Whose Line is it Anyway?**

 **Welcome to** Whose Line Is It Anyway, where everything is made up and the points don't matter, **the QL season 4 final!**

The Harry Potter books and movies have given us endless amounts of great quotes, and some of these will be the stars of this round. Each prompt is a quote that is widely associated with one particular character, but it's your job to make somebody else say it in your story. You may not change anything about the wording of your given quote as written below, nor can you work around this task by making a new character simply quote the original speaker.

Try and change the context or tone of the original line if you can. Remember that only one other person will be writing the same prompt as you, so standing out and being creative will be important when it comes to judging.

Good luck to the Wasps and the Falcons.

 **CHASER 2:** "Only I can live forever." - Voldemort

 **Additional Prompts:**

#3.(word) charcoal

#6.(quote) "We've eased each other's boredom for quite a while; it's been quite fun." - Ryuk, Death Note

#7.(word) tenderly

 **Chaser 2 for the Wimbourne Wasps**

* * *

 **Between Life and Death**

He was the end of everything, and the beginning of everything. Because every end was a beginning, and every beginning was an end. He had always been, and he would always be. Before he even knew what he was, he had known that one fact. He was already old when Time came to be, and he was ancient by the time something new appeared.

This something was as different from him as could possibly be. He was ancient, weary, and everlasting. She was young, full of energy, and so fragile.

So, even though his curiosity was woken for the first time in his existence, he knew he had to keep away, for he was Death, and she was Life.

* * *

Life was buzzing with energy, fluttering from one place to the next. Everything was so new, so unexplored. There was nothing to see—nothing existed in this place. Well, that wasn't quite true. She hadn't perceived it at first, but there existed _something_.

She tried to follow him, even though he kept his distance. She pouted at his imposing back.

"Don't leave."

He stopped, and she lit up, a dazzling smile spreading across her lips.

"You must realize I cannot stay," he said, his voice deep and rough.

It wrapped around her, feeling like an everlasting abyss.

Yes, she knew that. She could feel herself draining just from hearing his voice. But… but she had so much energy—surely, just a moment couldn't hurt?

"Please."

He turned, and she saw his face for the first time. She felt her breath catch in her throat. He had such dark eyes. They were even darker than the nothingness that was around them. It was his eyes, she decided, that made him look so much older than her. They had already seen everything there was to see and everything there would ever be. He was the end of all things, she knew. She couldn't help but wonder how many endings he had seen.

For a moment, his expression softened, a small smile tugging at his lips. Then, it was hidden away behind an expressionless facade. Something in her ached at seeing that mask directed at her.

"No."

He turned, disappearing into the nothingness around them.

She closed her eyes, regretting, for just one moment, that he was Death and she was Life.

* * *

He raised an eyebrow at the things that were coming to life all around him. He could feel her working away at them, shaping everything around her to her heart's content. They might be nothing but clouds of gasses and clumps of rocks, but he knew they would turn into something magnificent.

When Life was involved, it always did.

"Do you like them?" she asked from behind him, far too close, as usual.

"I do."

"They're for you." Her smile was apparent in her words.

He knew that; they were always for him.

"I do not need them."

She came a little closer, and from the corner of his eye, he could see a pout forming on her lips.

"You don't want me to be with you, which means that you're all alone. I don't want you to be alone."

He turned away. He refused to give in to her. He knew where it would lead. He left, leaving Life to get on with the creation of the Universe as she saw fit.

* * *

She smiled at all the planets and all the stars, at the bright comets and large meteors. She smiled at all of her creations, at how all of them were beautiful in their own way. Even though she still had so much to play with, she stopped. She had created all of this for Death, and though they were beautiful and would last for a very long time, they didn't really serve the purpose she intended.

She didn't want Death to be alone.

* * *

Death felt his lips twitch when another life essence flowed inside of him.

"They're great, right?" Life asked him, hovering just a little to his left, far too close for comfort. "I made them for you." Her smile was more brilliant than any star. "They live and then they die. It's both of us together. The best part? When they die, they go to you, with all their stories! You'll never be alone now!"

Her laughter rang out through the cosmos, spreading life in its wake.

"You smiled!" She cheered, raising her arms in the air, her smile growing even larger. "This needs to be celebrated! I know just what to do!"

She disappeared, and he sighed in relief. The further away from him she was, the better it would be, the safer she would be. His eyes softened as the essence of a tiny being made its way to him. A dog? Something that would evolve to be a dog somewhere down the line.

He leaned down, gently picking it up. The essence cuddled against him, and it slowly started melting into his body. He closed his eyes as the being's memories joined his own.

* * *

"Look!" Life twirled around Death, showing him her newest creation. "They look like you and me! I'll call them humans. What do you think?" She grinned up at him.

"If you so wish."

She pouted. "You could sound more enthusiastic. Look at them! Aren't they cute? And these ones," she showed him a small group of others she had created, "these ones will be magical. They'll be the most like us. They'll be special. They'll last longer, too. I'm sure they'll have lots of stories to tell you once they join you."

Death remained stoic, and she slumped a little.

"Maybe, if you created something as well, you would feel more enthusiastic?"

Death looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "I am Death. I do not create."

"Have you tried?"

She looked straight into those charcoal-colored eyes. She grinned when she saw his shoulders drop a little; she had won this round.

She watched as he molded his essence into something. Then, he split it in four. Three of them formed different shapes, while the last bit formed a magical human, similar to the ones she had created, but with a touch of Death.

"He will have your eyes, and he'll unite the rest of the objects with my essence. I wonder what stories he will bring me."

Life smiled, her green eyes lit up with delight.

"You're already more involved! I'll be sure to leave him with the most loving parents I can find!"

Death disappeared again, but she wasn't worried. She could always find him.

* * *

He was the withering of a flower bud, the last breath a human took, the decaying of a forest, the crumbling of a mountain. He was the end of everything that was and would ever be, and now, he was the end of a beginning.

Life's first ever creation was crumbling before his eyes, the light of the first star going out, and there was nothing he could do.

There never was.

There was a pull, and he closed his eyes.

For the first time since she'd come into existence, he sought out her company.

She looked weak, her light faltering; even so, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

She smiled at him, and every soul he had ever gathered cried for him.

"We've eased each other's boredom for quite a while; it's been quite fun," she said, her eyes still full of life.

He walked closer to her, kneeling at her side.

"This was never about boredom."

Her smile softened. "I know."

She lifted her hand, reaching for him, and for the first time in her existence, he took it. He held the frail hand between both of his, closing his eyes at the loving smile she gave him.

If only she had listened to him; if only she had stayed away.

He leaned in, kissing her lips tenderly and stealing her last breath.

Her hand went slack between his, and he pulled away. He watched as life started crumbling all around him, a new end starting, a new beginning waiting to happen. He closed his eyes, turning away.

There had been another, once. One he had created to bring him stories, to share the weight of his burden. How long ago had it been? Centuries? Millenia? He tried to recall what had happened to that one, what had happened to the pieces of himself he had gifted.

A snapped wand, a forgotten cloak, a stone buried beneath the earth. Perhaps it was better that way.

He cast one final look behind him, searching for a sign of life in the darkness, but there was nothing. He sighed.

"Only I can live forever."

* * *

A.N.: Thanks to my wonderful team for beta'ing


End file.
